Expanding Access to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: Low-Threshold Buprenorphine Dispensing via an Interprofessional Mobile Medical Unit in Chicago.
Elmes-Patel, Abigail T.; Jarrett, Jennie B.; Jimenez, Antonio D.; Mayer, Stockton M.; Messmer, Sarah E.
Why this matters
Clinical pharmacists can carry buprenorphine dispensing on a mobile unit, which changes the staffing math. In Chicago neighborhoods with high overdose rates, 737 patients were seen across 2,413 visits and 67 percent were dispensed buprenorphine.
Study details
Abstract
This retrospective cohort study describes service outcomes and buprenorphine dispensing of a mobile medical unit incorporating clinical pharmacists to provide low-threshold buprenorphine and primary care in Chicago neighborhoods with high opioid overdose rates. During the study period, 737 patients were seen for buprenorphine across 2,413 visits. The average patient was a 47-year-old Black male. Two-thirds (67%) were dispensed buprenorphine across 1,219 visits.